Three children among 43 deported from Ireland over the weekend at cost of €225,000
Gardaí said that four of the men deported had been convicted of offences in Ireland
A total of 43 people were deported from Ireland to Georgia on Sunday, including a family with three children, at a cost of 225,000 euro, excluding VAT.
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, confirmed the “completion of a successful deportation operation” to Georgia.
Among the 43 Georgian nationals, 33 were men and seven of whom were women.
Among the returnees was one family group of which three were children.
Gardaí said that four of the men deported had been convicted of offences in this State.
Mr O’Callaghan added:
“Deportations play an essential role in ensuring our immigration system is not undermined and that people follow the pathways already in place for legal migration.
“They are also an important mechanism to provide the public with confidence that our systems are rules-based and robust.
“This is the sixth charter deportation operation this year and I want to thank members of An Garda Síochána and my officials for their continued work in conducting these complex and sensitive operations.
“I also want to acknowledge that the vast majority of Georgian nationals are legally resident in the state and positively contribute to Irish society.
“The government has a voluntary return programme available for people who have no legal status, or who have had their international protection application withdrawn or refused. This is the preferred option, and people can only avail of this prior to the issuance of a deportation order.”
Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy added: “Deportation operations are complex for all those involved but an important and necessary part of our immigration and asylum procedures.
“As ever, I would like to express my appreciation to officials from my Department and An Garda Síochána for carrying out this successful operation.”
The returnees were accompanied on the flight by members of An Garda Síochána, medical staff, an interpreter as well as an independent human rights observer.
Further charter deportation operations will be conducted throughout 2026, the department said.
The cost of chartering the aircraft is 225,575.00 euro (ex VAT) for a return flight.
In 2025, six charter flight operations removed 182 people who were subject to deportation orders from the State, and 23 EU nationals were removed on removal orders.
In 2026 to date, 221 people have been removed by charter flights.